The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1887-06-23


The .. WsraA'sn Dalseen Roshes
Downward Nearly Three Miles
Ne One murt.
The New York Wsrlfs account Of the trial
trip Of It's great balloon gives the following
thrilling incident:
Suddenly Hazen sings eut: "Wers going too
fast. We're above the clOuda" Sure enough,
On looking outside there lay below us great banks
OF fieecy vapor. / reached my hand rom the
G. and could feel from above u the sun shine
full and strong. Through the clouds peered -
through a veil at the earth beneath Here ana
there were rents in the cloudy strata, through
which, as through peep-holes In . white mask,
l could perceive the wide, endless map OF green,
claumy vapor permeated my clothing. Hazen
sings out as he looks at the aneroid barometer
Were 1890 feet and still going up" At this
time the temperature had descended to Al de-
grees A few minutes later Hazen announces:
Sixteen thousand feet altitude This ID the
country" He adds, with some enthusiasm: The
temperature has got down to ST."
Doughty meanwhile shoots of his camera at
the clouds Click, click comes the sound OF his
apparatus as the instantaneous exposures are
made He had previously taken a dozen land
| scape views Moore sits all huddled up in .
heap, dejectedly gazing at me, with eyes falf
closed and looking like very sick man. Hazen
| leans outside to my left, swinging his psychrom-
| eter outside the car. sit on one OF Doughtys
boxes, holding in my lap writing beard, on
which am writing the third page Of large
sheet of tissue paper The time is about $50
| Hazen cries In alarm: I'VE are falling dread
| fully" He throws out q bunch OF circulars
| Instead of descending or floating with US, they
shoot upward as they leave his hand like steam
from an exhaust pipe. Moore springs to his
feet "Out with the ballast, boys!" Weak As
| he H., he
Doughty and Hazen have already dropped their
Instruments and each grabs bag OF sand
| Over they 60 As the sand leaves the bag 1t
flies upward as if from gun. 1t strikes the
| gas bag above US and gradually settles down
into the CAR filling eyes, ears and nostris almost
| TO suffocation.
TERRIBLE FALL IN MID AIR
| realize the peril spring to my feet. The
circulars and sand shooting upward, and the ter
| rife roaring in my ears with the appalling sense
| of the frightful velocity with which the car is
| dropping away from under rs, are enough to
| warn u.s. l stand in the centre Of the car. AS
look off over the edge of it perceive the earth
| flying upward The hitherto small green and
| yellow spots grow larger.
We can distinguish the greensward and the
fields Of ripening wheat, diversified by patches
of forest Now the fields spread out and the
! fences appear. Here cabin and there town.
here glistening crystal stream and yonder
Sray-Wnte nSuWdy Wy Vicw vi thcoo oUJcSes
is but momea,ary cover with ballast; over
with ballast" yels Moore, himself throwing
out what he can. The air about is full Of the
things we cast over, and which fly upward the
instant they leave the car "Something wrong,
beys II we don't stop her right away we're
lost. Overheard, quick, with everything
Out 60 the sand and the circulars the faster.
catch hold Of the great hickory hoop overhead
| and prepare for the worst Up comes the tops
OF the forest trees until the 700 feet of dragrope
touched them. Up again until the rope settles
upon the ground 200 feet or more, thus relieving
the car Of its weight.
THE NARROwEsT OF ESCAPES.
Then our downward motion perceptibly de-
creases The circulars float slowly upward
from the car, and began falling and futtering be,
low us. We have reached the turning psint, 4oC
feet high, and we are safe. Then we breathe
easier, and stand and gaze al one another inquir
ingly. How did it happen ?" l ask Moore
replies, can't account for it. The bag mus
he torn at the top Some one during the ex cite
ment of feeling pulled that rip cord. Inever saw
anything like it; from the uncommon height o.
sixteen thousand feet N a space of time which
seemed less than two minutes we dropped to 4O(
feet That settles it boys; we've got to come
down before dark, said Moore. Ballast wa.
thrown and we assembled to abOnt two Thousand
feet sailing over farm house. Moore, who wa
now thoroughly awake, yelled down: How
far are We from st. Louis p The indistinct an
swer was twenty-five miles" Here Work
envelope was dropped containing a dispatch
written above the clouds before the terrible fal
began. Shsrtly after this one of the Festus pig
cons was flown, and an hour or so later one o
the Crystal Citys, each bearing q message tied u
| the leg.